A Recovery
by warbleblues
Summary: She thought all was lost, until a shuttlepod crash-landed in her field... *Takes place after Terra Prime. kinda sorta AU. Reviews welcome!
1. Chapter 1

_*Disclaimer! I don't own anything Star Trek related! Not trying to steal credit or make a profit!_

* * *

I was tending my garden when I heard it. Faint at first, but it definitely seemed mechanical. Sounds like that were easy to pick out on this planet, even with the developments over the past few years. But still… as far as I knew they hadn't cracked the formula for the fuel injectors yet, but strangely enough it sounded like an engine. Maybe Kartoth's motives needed to be reevaluated. His information had been good in the past, but the Roojana weren't exactly known for their loyalty.

The sound faded out, but then it came back a few minutes later. Just in case, I headed back to my hut to grab a more substantial weapon than the blade I always carried in a concealed pocket on my pant leg. Even with the peace agreement, you could never be sure what was going on in the city these days. I _had_ heard rumors there was another revolt brewing, but…

A loud electrical cracking noise interrupted my thoughts. _Pay attention!_ It had been a while since much action had come my way, but I was annoyed at how easily my guard went down. I scanned the sky again for any sign of a craft... and was surprised to see one coming in from the east. It was still too far to get a good idea of the build, but it wasn't very large. The flight was growing more erratic, like it was having some sort of technical problem. And it was headed straight towards my land.

After grabbing my phase rifle, I ran towards the low bushes in the hills to the north of my hut and got down on the ground. I wasn't even supposed to have this rifle, but Kartoth had smuggled it out of the city for me, nearly two years ago. It had taken us the better part of a year to get it from the central armory, but I felt safer having something with a little more power around. Maybe that was my paranoia speaking, but paranoia had kept me alive this long and I wasn't in the habit of questioning my instincts.

Something wasn't quite adding up. I stared out at the edge of the forest but didn't see any movement. The craft was getting closer by the minute, and I could start to make out its shape. It definitely wasn't the shuttle the Roojan scientists had been working on, so where could it have come from? There weren't any other inhabited planets in this star system, and the nearest neighbors didn't have interstellar flight yet. Of course, my intel on that was a few years old but it still didn't make sense. And if it _was_ visitors from another system, why hadn't the Royal Guardsmen showed up yet? Surely they had spotted the craft on their scanners by now...

Regardless, it was apparent now that the craft was having some sort of problem because they were coming in way too steep for a normal landing. I stayed put in my hiding spot. From their trajectory I guessed they would crash in the fields less than a mile away from my hut. I wasn't sure what kind of scanning equipment they had on board but at least this way they wouldn't be able to find me visually. I wasn't exactly sure what the hell I was going to do, but for now I was just gunna sit tight and wait.

XXX

A light stream of smoke was coming out of the rear end of the shuttle. It had come down much closer than I had anticipated, maybe 200 meters from my position, but it was still intact. Watching the shuttle, and the woods, at least 5 minutes passed without any movement, so I decided I had to take action. I felt like it was safe to assume the Supreme Rajooth wasn't excepting any guests, or else the Guardsmen would have been out here by now, so the visitors must be some sort of hostiles. A force was probably sent out from the city as soon as they spotted the shuttle, giving me about 90 minutes until they reached me. So… either I stay hidden and pretend I had been out gathering in the woods, or I neutralize the threat myself and hope when the Guardsmen showed up they'd put in a good word for me in the Royal Court, maybe buy me a few more years of good favor.

Thankfully the shuttle had landed in the part of the field covered in tall grasses, so I could approach without being totally exposed. Just as I was about to get up to the side of the craft, a door decompressed and opened. A few moments later I heard a voice. Somehow the words sounded familiar to me, but it couldn't be…

A humanoid came out from the shadow of the interior, and without hesitation, I fired a stun shot at them. The body fell, half in half out of the shuttle, and I ran up to see who else was inside. Stepping over the body, I inched into the shuttle and saw one other form, slumped motionless over a console at the front. I quickly took off my belt and ripped it in half to bind the two passengers' hands behind them. Then I took a deep breath. I looked down and saw my hands were shaking. _Pull it together, Callie_. My body had forgotten what this much adrenaline felt like.

I dragged the passenger I had shot and leaned him up against the outside of the shuttle, and in the sunlight, I gasped. He looked human! That would mean… maybe I did recognize the language he was speaking, and it wasn't just my mind playing tricks on me. But how could humans be here, on Rooja of all places? My head was swirling and put my hand out to steady myself against the shuttle. Inside the shuttle I heard a groan.

"Ahh, Trip what happened? Wha…What the hell? Why am I tied up?" I heard the man start to struggle, so I picked my phase rifle back up and hid around the back side of the shuttle. When he stumbled outside, I waited a few seconds, then pointed the rifle at him.

"Woah, wait, just wait a minute. What do you want?" I said nothing. "Wait, are you human? You are, aren't you? We came down here looking for you, don't shoot!"

 _Say something!_ Except I didn't know what to say, it had been so long since I had spoken English out loud… and finding out they were human totally threw off my plan. If this was a shuttle, there had to be a larger ship orbiting the planet. And if there _was_ …

"Hello? Can you understand me? What did you do to Trip?" The man was getting visibly agitated.

"He… he'll be okay… it was on stun." The words felt strange in my mouth.

"Okay, listen to me, my name is Malcolm. I'm from the Enterprise, a Starfleet ship. From Earth. I promise, we don't want to hurt you. Just… put the gun down and we can talk about this…"

I held my ground. "Why are you here?"

"We were passing through this system and wanted to get some sensor readings of the planet, so Commander Tucker and I took the shuttle down for a sweep, and then your life signs popped up on the scanner. But for some reason we started having trouble with the engine, and, well you know the rest." He seemed to be telling the truth, but I was still wary. I tried to think quickly and reevaluate my options.

"Can your shuttle fly?"

"Well, I'll need Tucker to help me make a few repairs, but I think we can get it off the ground again."

"How long?"

"I really couldn't say, Tucker is the one you should be asking. Will you please put the gun down now?"

If this was going to work, I had to act fast. The Guardsmen were still on their way, and I wouldn't be able to handle them all even with the help of my two new friends. I put the rifle on the ground and walked over to untie Malcolm.

"We don't have long. Wait here and start working." He looked bewildered, but relieved to be untied. I started back towards my hut.

"Wait, what do you mean? Where are you going?"

"To get some things. I'll be back, start working!"


	2. Chapter 2

Back in my hut, I let out a huge sigh, and closed my eyes for a second. My chest felt heavy. I felt like I wanted to cry or scream or something. But then I caught myself. I didn't have time to think about all this, I just needed to make it work. I could get off this planet, but only if I kept moving.

I grabbed my satchel and started stuffing it with the few belongings I had. My blades, my collection of dried herbs, the wooden trinkets I had carved and my tools, a small box of things Kartoth had helped me recover over the past few years… and that was basically everything. Did I really have so little that I cared about left in my possession? I took a look around the hut that had sheltered me for so long, the hut I thought I would live the rest of my life in. I felt a twinge, something like nostalgia. But it didn't last long.

I ran back towards the shuttle to find Malcolm crouched over the man he called Tucker. "I told you to start working, we're running out of time!"

"Why? What's the big rush?"

"The Guardsmen, they're coming. We only have an hour, maybe less. We need to be in the air before they get here." I knelt by Tucker, who was still unconscious. Rummaging through my satchel, I found the herb bundle I was looking for.

"What is that?" Malcolm looked alarmed as I rubbed the yellow powder under Tucker's nose. A few seconds later he sneezed and opened his eyes, then opened them wider when he realized I was there.

"What the hell?" He looked around, slightly relieved when he spotted Malcolm, but his brow furrowed up again when he looked back at me. "You… did you shoot me?!"

"There's no time. You have to fix the shuttle." I tried to help him to his feet, but he shook me off.

"Now wait just a minute. I wanna know what's going on… and what the hell is that smell?"

"I… I had to use the fitteg root to wake you up. And I don't have time to explain, we just need to get off this planet!"

"You said there were guards coming here?" Malcolm asked.

"Yes, but we don't want to be here when they…" The sound of birds stopped me. I looked towards the forest and saw a small flock flying out of the trees, cawing loudly. I immediately tensed up; this couldn't be good.

Tucker chuckled at my reaction to the birds. "Well if those are the guards, I think we're gunna be just fine."

"No, someone is in the forest… it could be a hunting party, they've been known to come out this way on occasion. Please, if you ever want to leave this planet, we need to get this shuttle fixed." Something in my voice must have given away the fear that was starting to creep up in me, because Tucker's face got serious.

"Trip, I think we should listen to her."

"Alright, alright." He got up and brushed himself off, shooting me a stern look. "Just don't shoot me again."

As the two men headed back into the shuttle, I could hear Tucker explaining what he thought the problem was, but their voices faded as I tried to listen for any more sounds coming from the forest. If the hunting party was small, I could probably convince them I had found the shuttle abandoned after gathering herbs and ask them to go back and find the Guardsmen. That would buy us a bit more time to get in the air. But if it was one of the larger groups, there could be as many as 15 armed hunters headed this way. And if that happened, the only way I could avoid being brought back to the city was if I betrayed these men. I really didn't want to do that to the first humans I had seen in years.

After a few minutes I popped my head back in the shuttle. "Can you fix it?"

"Yess," Tucker replied with an exasperated tone, not looking up from the exposed panel he was working on.

"How long?"

"I don't know, maybe a half hour if you stop interrupting us?"

I looked back towards the woods, and saw movement. My chest tightened in anticipation. "You have to stay in the shuttle, and shut the hatch. I'll take care of the hunters."

Malcolm started to protest, "Are you sure you don't want…."

"Just trust me!" I ran back towards my hut, where I had a better vantage on the path exiting the forest. Suddenly I could see them. Hunters coming out into the sun, carrying bows and wearing heavy furs. Two at first, then a third followed them. I heaved a sigh of relief. Luck was apparently on my side today.

I hid my bag in the grass and pretended to be busy carving, sitting on the stone in front of my hut as I always had. The hunters had obviously spotted me and were headed my way. It's not like they didn't know I was living out here, most Roojana did. I looked up and feigned surprise at seeing them. Standing up, my heart was pounding in my throat, but I started running towards them.

"Greetings, and blessings to you on this fine morning." I tried to keep a lightness in my voice, but the hunters were obviously not interested in pleasantries.

"What is that craft? Where did it come from?" the leader barked at me, gesturing towards the shuttle a hundred meters away.

"Sir, I was hoping you could assist me. I was out gathering herbs this morning, and when I returned I found this craft in my field. But it was empty, no beings in sight. I could not track where they had gone to and was waiting here for the Guardsmen to come. Perhaps you could go and find them, and bring them here for me?" The leader exchanged looks with his hunting mates. Those in the hunting caste had an uncanny way of silently communicating with each other, something I had only witnessed on a few occasions.

"We will wait here for the Guardsmen with you. If the beings return, we will protect you." Damnit. It was obvious the hunter didn't give a damn about me, he just wanted to claim the discovery of the craft for himself, hoping to buy some sort of favor with the Royal Court. Admittedly, I had the same plan for myself, but that was before I realized the shuttle was piloted by humans with a starship in orbit.

"But sir, I can protect myself. The Guardsmen will find us much easier if you guide them here. You know they are useless at tracking." In my mind, I crossed my fingers hoping he would be swayed by this flattery. His men laughed heartily.

"Ha, this is true, Kiinasa. But I think it best if we stay here." Fuck. I knew from the resolute tone of his voice nothing I said could convince him. Well, at least there were only three of them.

"As you wish. You may rest by my home while you wait." I gestured towards my hut and bowed slightly. He grunted.

"Fine. Haftoth, stand watch by the craft." The leader and the other hunter headed towards my hut, while Haftoth exhaled sharply in irritation and turned towards the shuttle. As I followed the Roojan hunters, my fingers dug into a tiny pocket I had sewn into the waistband of my pants and drew out the tiny packet hidden there.

"Please sit, I am honored to have you here," I said as I offered the leader the rock I had been sitting on when they spotted me. He sat down heavily and pulled a flask from his chest harness. The moment he put the flask to his lips, I spun around and blew a red powder into the face of the other hunter.


	3. Chapter 3

The hunter was a big guy, so I figured it would take at least a minute for the powder to knock him out. His eyes were wide in disbelief, and he sneezed a couple times, which kept him from attacking me for a few seconds. My main concern was the leader. As soon as he realized what was happening, he recapped his flask calmly, tossed it to the ground, and withdrew the long rufith blade from its leather sheath. I followed suit and drew my trusty short blade from my pant leg.

"So, this is how you want to play it, Kiinasa? Always with the tricks. But you have grown weak since your Mautiir days." He laughed, but it sounded like a growl.

"Not too weak to take you." The leader held his free hand up, looking behind me. I guessed the other hunter had recovered momentarily and tried to make a move against me, but the leader was a proud man. He didn't need help taking down a little girl like me. It was just as well, because a few seconds later I heard a loud thud as the other hunter fell heavily to the ground.

I knew he wouldn't kill me; it would be more profitable for him to take me captive and turn me in to city authorities. The moment I made an aggressive act against his fellow hunter, I was in violation of my release terms. I just needed to find a way to knock him unconscious too, then deal with his other friend by the shuttle. _Shouldn't be that hard, right?_ I sarcastically asked myself. Thankfully my hut had blocked the view of us from the shuttle, so he wouldn't be able to see that his leader was in any trouble.

We took a moment to size each other up, then the leader made the first move. The blade missed my arm by about 7 centimeters. He may have been stronger and bigger than me, but I was faster. Using this to my advantage, I feigned lunges towards him. Left, right, left, then squarely caught him with my blade, slicing open his left sleeve. Though the cut wasn't deep, it had drawn blood. The hunter's second set of nostrils flared.

We kept going at each other in this manner for another minute or two, dancing around each other in a circle. The hunter was getting visibly angry. I caught him two more times with my blade, but still only surface wounds. I was hoping if I got him upset enough he would start to get sloppy, but it ended up having the opposite effect.

He suddenly let out a roar, and forgetting the importance of capturing me alive, swung wildly at my abdomen. I leapt backwards but not fast enough. The rufith sliced into my right side and I couldn't help but let out a gasp. I didn't feel any pain, but a red stain quickly grew on my shirt. The hunter was sneering at me.

"Give it up, Kiinasa!" But even if I had wanted to, giving up wasn't an option. I had to take down this hunter. I had to protect the men in the shuttle from suffering the fate I had 5 years ago. I _had_ to get off this godforsaken planet.

I quickly spun around and kicked with all my strength, and the spirits must've been looking down on me today, because I felt my foot connect with his hand. The rufith blade sailed through the air and hit the ground a few meters away. Both the hunter and I seemed to be in shock, because we both stood staring at each other without moving for a moment, just breathing heavily. But it didn't take long for him to recover, and with a howl he charged at me, ramming his shoulder into my stomach. I fell backwards and hit the ground so hard I saw stars dance across my field of vision.

Now the hunter stood over me with confidence. He bent over and grabbed me by the neck, roughly raising me to my feet, then into the air. My feet were dangling, barely able to make contact with the ground. He squeezed tighter with satisfaction, knowing he had already won.

I tried to inhale but all I could do was open and close my mouth, I couldn't even make a sound. My vision started to grow blurry, but another image was replacing the hunter's face in front of me. Fuzzy at first, then suddenly crystal clear. The faces of my team, one after another, passing in front of me. And they were smiling at me, like the day we all boarded the Daybreak and started our journey away from Earth. Fresh and excited. Ready to face anything. I smiled back.

And with a sharp pain in my abdomen, I came back to the present moment with a new resolve. My fingernails dug deeper in the hunter's hands, still firmly around my neck. I gathered all the energy I had left in me and raised my knees up to my chest. Then in one swift motion I kicked at the hunter's gut with my heels. He recoiled from my assault and coughed, the wind knocked out of him. His hands loosened just enough that I was able to break free with my backwards momentum. I fell back to the ground, gasping desperately to fill my lungs with fresh air and trying to calculate my next move while my mind still reeled from lack of oxygen.

Just as I was scrambling to stand again and continue my attack, I heard the short unmistakable burst of a phase weapon. The hunter's eyes bulged and he fell forwards, all dead weight, barely missing me. Another figure appeared where the hunter had been standing, but my vision was still too blurry to make him out.

"Are you okay?" I recognized the voice. It was one of the humans… Malcolm. He got closer to me and noticed the blood stain on my shirt. "Let's get you back to the shuttlepod, I think we have a medkit in there somewhere…"

"I told you to stay where you were," I croaked, still trying to catch my breath. "I could've handled him!"

"Well fortunately for you, I don't take orders from you! Now come on, I think Trip's almost done with the repairs." He tried to help me get to my feet, but I pushed him away and got up on my own… and then nearly fell down again. My head was feeling very fuzzy, no longer aided by the surge of adrenaline from the fight. My hand touched my stomach gingerly and found that my shirt was soaked. I realized my blade was still in my other hand, but some automatic reflex helped guide it back into its pocket. Malcolm put his arm around me; this time I didn't resist. We started walking, well, limping back to the shuttle together, making sure to grab my satchel on the way.

"Okay Malcolm I think we're almost set, just gotta run through the preflight checks…" Tucker was staring at a viewscreen, pushing buttons and muttering to himself. Malcolm helped ease me into a seat in the back. He opened a panel and pulled out a small case, rummaging through it until he found what he was looking for. Tucker briefly looked back over his shoulder. "She okay?"

"She has a nasty looking cut, but she'll make it. Here, take this and apply pressure to your wound."

"My herbs… look in my satchel, for a white bundle…" It was getting harder to concentrate, now that the pain had kicked in. He found the bundle and untied the string, holding it out to me. I blinked, trying to focus my eyes, and grabbed a few dark leaves. I could almost hear the old Roojan woman's voice, explaining that the fortaranth leaves were useful in helping blood congeal. I missed her visits, her lessons. I wondered if I would ever see her again. Maybe in another life..

Time was flowing by at a rate I couldn't keep track of, but finally I heard the shuttle hatch closing, and then the sound of the engines starting up. Leaning back, I let my eyes close. A faint smile crept over my face as we lifted off Rooja at last.


	4. Chapter 4

_Note: Hello! Thanks for checking out my story. So I was having trouble deciding how this story would fit into the timeline, but it seems to fit better after the events of Terra Prime than before. Not really sure if it counts as alternate universe anymore.. but anyway. I'd love to hear any feedback you have to offer, grammar or plot related. And of course, I still don't own anything Star Trek... well, enjoy!_

XXX

I woke up to the disturbing feeling that I couldn't smell anything. No comforting aroma of sweet grasses, no earthy tones of wood, nothing. Alarmed, I wondered where I could possibly be where these scents were missing. But then I opened my eyes and the interior of the shuttlepod slowly came into focus. The soft glow of console lights and two men at the front working the controls. A groan escaped my lips as the throbbing pain from my abdomen reached my conscious mind.

"Oh good, you're awake. We'll be docking with Enterprise soon, just hold on."

I slowly recalled the events of the past hour, and despite my injury, I felt a wave of relief pass over me. There were no Guardsmen after me, no Royal Court to answer to, no danger at all. I wasn't on Rooja anymore.

I saw my satchel at the floor by my right foot, and without _too_ much protest from the gash in my stomach, I was able to reach the strap and lift it up to my lap. I felt around inside until my fingers found the rough weave of the bundle I was looking for. Inside this bundle was a stash of gronda twigs I had gathered a few days ago. I knew they worked best when dried, but obviously I didn't have time to wait around for that to happen, so I popped one in my mouth anyway and started chewing on it. Almost immediately I felt more alert, the sensations returning to my body and mind.

About 15 minutes later the shuttle gently touched down onto something solid, and I realized we had finally reached their ship. Enterprise, he called it. The two men made quick work of shutting the engines down and opening the hatch. A hiss of air, and then many more lights and unfamiliar sounds. The reality of the situation was starting to set in.

"Do you think you can walk?" Malcolm was inspecting me. He looked slightly surprised that I was even awake.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a scratch really." I rose to my feet, surprising myself at how steady I felt. Usually the gronda root took much longer to kick in.

"Alright, just come with us, we're going to escort you to sickbay."

At first, everything felt fine. I knew my injury was pretty bad, but I felt strong and my mind was sharp. As I exited the vessel, I was amazed to see how big the shuttlebay was. The men seemed to be a bit anxious. They led me to a door, then down a short hallway. I felt exhilarated. It was so bright and spacious for a space craft, nothing like the _Daybreak_ , or any of the other countless cargo ships I had traveled on. The hall was curved, and before long we arrived at door, a turbolift.

The men were busy talking to each other and then into a panel in the turbolift, but I was lost in my own thoughts, taking in the moment. The turbolift started moving. Suddenly, I could feel my whole body tense up. Something felt off. Something felt… familiar? My mouth started salivating as a wave of nausea rapidly set in. Then out of nowhere I was seeing the faces of my team again, but this time they weren't smiling. They were bloody and bruised, expressions of agony and fear. I felt myself getting sucked into a black hole… What was happening to me?

A faraway voice called out. "Hello? Are you okay?"

XXX

Malcolm and Trip stared at the woman in the turbolift. She was in some sort of daze, totally oblivious to their presence. They looked back at each other.

"I don't get it, she was fine just a minute ago. Is she in shock or something?" Tucker asked.

"I don't think so… I don't think she'd be standing if she was." Malcolm was debating if he should grab her shoulders and shake her or something, when the turbolift arrived at its stop and the door opened.

"Well?" Tucker asked. No one was moving, but the woman seemed to be hyperventilating now. Anxious to get her into sickbay, Tucker put a hand on the back of her arm to guide her out of the turbolift. He was not at all prepared for her reaction.

Like a compressed spring finally released, the woman let out a scream and spun around, flinging her arm at him. Tucker gasped as he realized she had somehow drawn a short blade, seemingly out of thin air, and sliced into his bicep.

"What the _hell?_ " But the woman had already started running down the hallway before either of the men could get a grasp on the situation. At least she was heading towards sickbay.

Malcolm pulled out his phase pistol and ran after her. Tucker slammed the comm panel button. "Phlox! Security alert! The woman we rescued just snapped into some sort of.. fight or flight response, she's headed down the hall towards you. Malcolm's following her. Be careful intercepting her, she has a knife." He paused, then pushed the button again. "Captain, you should probably meet us in sickbay when you get a chance."

Muttering profanities to himself, he pulled aside his torn sleeve to examine the cut. At least it was only superficial, but it stung. Then he started down the hallway too, but not in any rush.

Phlox had been in the middle of treating two crewmen with minor injuries from an accident on an engineering repair job, but he handed off to his assistant and headed towards the door with a sedative hypospray in hand.

But when he entered the hallway, he found the woman cowering against the opposite wall, covered in sweat. She was crying out weakly in an alien language.

"Naish, naish! Untath raka boreel. Naish Mautiir abanth… untath…"

Malcolm rounded the corner, pointing his pistol at the woman.

"Lieutenant, please! Lower your weapon!" Phlox slowly approached the woman, and both men sighed in relief as she fainted, the blade dropping from her hand.

"Quickly, help me get her into sickbay."

XXX

Phlox was shaking his head, staring at the results of his scans as the woman lay unconscious on one of the beds. She had ingested some sort of psychotropic drug, probably from the chewed root he found in her mouth. The drug was some sort of stimulant, but judging from the results of her neurotransmitter levels, it likely had produced hallucinations of some sort as well. The stomach wound hadn't been quite as bad as it looked, but she had lost a significant amount of blood. And then there was the evidence of prolific physical traumas, all from about 4 to 5 years ago. It reminded him of scans from victims of torture. He wondered what had happened to this poor woman, and how she had ended up alone on an alien planet. The sickbay doors opened behind him.

"Doctor. What can you tell me?" It was Captain Archer. He started explaining what his scans had revealed.

"I'd say she was probably suffering from a kind of traumatic stress response, triggered by the drug she ingested. Like a flashback."

"She was speaking in an alien language before she passed out. And she stopped responding to us in the turbolift, like she didn't even know we were there," Malcolm offered.

"That would all be consistent with a severe dissociative episode. I gave her a compound to counteract the drug, and her neural levels seem to be getting back to normal now. The stomach wound is healing nicely too." Archer stared at the woman in contemplation.

"I'm doing just fine too," Trip said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Well to be honest, I wasn't too worried about you," Archer replied, chuckling.

"Did I mention she shot me too?"

"She also revived you, don't be so dramatic Trip," Malcolm said smirking. Trip glared back at him, rolling his tongue inside his cheek as he tried to think of a response, but they could tell he wasn't actually upset. Archer brought their attention back to the woman.

"Can you revive her Doctor? I'd like to speak with her if that's okay, find out what she was doing all the way out here."

"I'm afraid I can't do that just yet. Come back in 2 hours and you can talk with her all you want." Archer nodded, took one more look at his new passenger, then headed back to the bridge with Malcolm.

"Hey Doc.. you sure there weren't any side effects from that powder she used on me?"

"I'm quite sure Trip. The Captain asked me to look over the collection of herbs she brought with her, and it appears she had more than a rudimentary understanding of botanical remedies. Despite her unfortunate reaction to the stimulant she used. If my analysis is correct, the drug loses potency as the twigs dry out, which makes it very useful in first aid situations, giving the patient energy and boosting the immune response without any side effects. It's really a fascinating field, Commander, I remember back when I was in medical school…"

"Okay Phlox, I get the idea. I really should be reporting back to engineering now, thanks again…" Tucker's voice trailed off as he quickly shuffled out of sickbay.

Phlox sighed, turning to his Pyrithian bat. "Well, I suppose not everyone is as curious about learning new things as we are, hmm?"


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: Apologies for the delay! My master's thesis was due this month, so unfortunately I was a bit preoccupied trying to finish that... but now it's all done and signed and I can focus on more important things! Thanks to all who have read and reviewed so far, hope you enjoy this next chapter._

XXX

A soft light. The gentle beeping of consoles. Hushed voices laced with tension.

I slowly opened my eyes to see the shadows of two figures leaning over me, and two more standing back a few feet. Something in the back of my head was suppressing my natural panic response. Inexplicably, all I could really feel was… curiosity. And a bit groggy.

"My name is Jonathan Archer, I'm the Captain of the ship you were brought to, _Enterprise_. We're from Earth." The tall man closest to my bed was speaking. The man on the other side was checking a hand scanner. He wasn't human. "This is our Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Phlox. He's from Denobula."

"Yes, and good news, everything on my latest scan checks out. The psychotropic drugs are no longer present in your system, and your stomach wound is nearly healed, though it will be sore for a few days." The doctor's warm smile took up most of his face.

"We thought this system was uninhabited, but we found you while running sensor sweeps of the fourth planet from the primary star. You also… assaulted one of my men, twice. Doctor Phlox says you were experiencing a… dissociative episode when we brought you on board, and…" the captain's explanation brought the events of the past day flooding back to my mind, though the most recent ones were a bit fuzzy.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" I stammered, interrupting him. I couldn't believe what I had done, and to a fellow human no less. Now my heartrate jumped, and my hands covered my face in embarrassment. "Is he okay?" My mind tried to solidify the details of my movements from the shuttle to sickbay, but everything was a blur. What if I had killed him?! The captain was probably here to lock me up in the brig until he could drop me off at the nearest penal colony…

"He's just fine. But I need to know, are there any other humans down on the planet?"

"No… no I was the last one." I was beyond relieved to find out the officer was alive, but then I realized I was going to have to tell them what happened to my team. Something I hadn't particularly been looking forward to.

"Can you tell us about yourself? My officers said you didn't get a chance to tell them your name."

"Kiinasa. Um..." No, wait. That wasn't right. I shook my head, shocked that I had nearly forgotten my own name. But I guess I hadn't used it in so long… "No, that's just what the Roojana called me. Um.. it's like a caste designator, it roughly translates as, 'released offworlder prisoner'. Something like that. My real name is Callie, Callie Reynolds." The captain exchanged looks with the man and woman behind him. I recognized Malcolm, one of the men who had saved me. The woman was a Vulcan.

"My science officer T'Pol found some disks full of research data in your bag." I nodded.

"I was part of a research team. There were 12 of us." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes briefly. Best just to get straight to the point. "A private collective wanted to launch an expedition to seek out alien planets. This was many years ago. They were especially interested in finding a pre-warp society to study. They wanted to set up a long-term observation camp. There hadn't been any new studies like this in decades, it was going to be groundbreaking." I paused, but I knew I had to keep going.

"They assembled a team of scientists from all different disciplines. We had biologists in many specialties, chemists, social scientists, you name it. I was 21 when they approached me. About to graduate at the top of my class, anthropology and sociology major. They had already been turned down by 5 other anthropologists. Most of my field was busy writing comparatives of Vulcan and human culture and theorizing on how interstellar travel was impacting human society. Some of my classmates were even hoping to find a way onto Starfleet ships, so they didn't want to commit to such a long-term assignment far from Earth. The allure of a warp-5 ship was hard to pass up, even if all the news reports said it was unlikely to happen for another few decades." The captain started laughing.

"Funny you should mention that, you're actually on the first warp-5 Starfleet ship right now. And we have yet to accept any anthropologists. Seems they have little interest in completing Starfleet training, and Starfleet refuses to place civilian scientists on the ship." It took a second to absorb what he had just told me.

"I can't believe it... When did you launch?"

"Almost 5 years ago now."

"Incredible… Our team would've given anything to find a warp-5 ship to transport us. Once the expedition was finally ready to launch, they decided to best way to travel would be by cargo transports. It was easy to buy passage from one ship to the next, and it provided us with invaluable information on planets and species for hundreds of lightyears around. Of course, it was a dreadfully slow way to travel, but eventually we heard reports of a planet that fit our requirements. Pre-warp, far from Earth or Vulcan, isolated: it was perfect. All in all, it took us 5 and half years to get to Rooja.

"We managed to bribe the captain of a Ferengi ship to take us into orbit around the planet. We were traveling with our own shuttle, just big enough to carry us and our equipment down to the surface. Everything went really well for the first 10 months. We set up camp near some caves, a few kilometers from their largest city. We had top of the notch scanning equipment, and one of the researchers had a connection to a huge tech lab and managed to get us a prototype of a cloaking field generator, so we could remain hidden from the indigenous aliens.

"But one night, a massive storm front developed without warning. It started disrupting the field generators, and we were just unlucky enough that a large hunting party was out, looking for shelter from the storm. We were discovered, and they shot our lead scientist with their arrows before we even knew what was happening." I closed my eyes, still able to see his body falling to the ground, illuminated by flashes of lightning.

"We all knew it was going to be a difficult assignment. We were supposed to stay for 6 years, collecting data, out of communication range with anyone from Earth or otherwise. We had even spent 2 months in survival training, and many of my team members were well-seasoned and had been on similar expeditions in the past. But nothing had prepared us for this."

"If you need to take a break…" the captain started, but I shook my head firmly.

"No, I'd rather just get through this… Well, the Roojana are a warrior society. Ruled by a dictator, who takes his power by force. They believe in strict, absolute adherence to their laws. Anyone found guilty of even the slightest transgression is sentenced to the Mautiir, the length of the sentence depending on the crime. The Mautiir… is like the gladiatorial tournaments of our ancient Rome. They were huge events, a central part of Roojan culture. As aliens, we were taken as captives and added to the Mautiir as an exclusive spectacle. We were assigned personal trainers, to help us fight better... to help us be more entertaining. The lead hunter who found us became so popular that he soon made an attempt on the throne and succeeded.

"This went on for weeks, then months. Slowly, one by one, the members of my team were dying or being killed in fights. There were only 4 of us left when I was scheduled to fight a double match with Richard, a biologist, against seven Roojan Guardsmen. It was supposed to be a Fantror match… uh, basically, a kind of final showdown. One that would assuredly result in our deaths. Well, over the months I had made a few friends in our prison, especially with the healers who would come to patch us up between matches. One older woman slipped me some herb bundles one night. She told me a Guardsman had killed one of her grandchildren, and it was her duty to seek revenge. So, I used the powder in the match, giving Richard and I the upper hand for a while. The crowd was going crazy though, loving the turn of events, the unpredictability.

"We got down to our last two opponents, but Richard had gotten badly injured. Then it was like some kind of miracle, the Rajooth apparently decided to have mercy on the offworlders who had granted him the fate to ascend to the throne and provided so much entertainment for his people. More likely, he wanted to steal the spotlight for himself, while ensuring his Guardsmen weren't completely humiliated by offworlders like us. He called off the match and released the 4 of us to live a secluded life outside the city.

"Richard died from his injuries a few days after we set up our new camp. Sarah, Manuel and I got sick a few months later, some kind of local flu, but only I recovered. After that, I lived in relative isolation, apart from one or two Roojan women who took pity on me and would come to check on me every so often. The research collective would've sent a vessel to pick us up for our return voyage in another year or two, but the Roojans stole all our technology and our shuttle, so I didn't have much hope of ever leaving the planet. Of course, here I am now. Still a bit unbelievable… I guess that's about it." The four individuals in the room had been staring intently at me throughout my story; now they seemed unable to make eye contact with me. I looked down at my hands. No one knew what to say next. It was the Vulcan woman who broke the silence.

"It is very fortunate that you survived. Logically, based on the conditions, you should have perished with the others," she said with an even tone and no expression on her face. I knew enough about Vulcans to not be offended, but still, it was hard not to react to her statement.

"I think what my First Officer _means_ is, we're glad we found you and were able to get you off that planet. I…I'm sorry to hear what you had to go through, and for the loss of your team. We'll send a message back to Earth to let everyone's families know what happened to them. As for you, well, _Enterprise_ is on a mission that won't take us near Earth anytime soon, but I'll call Starfleet Command and I'm sure we can arrange for some sort of transport back…"

"Please Captain, I don't want to go back to Earth… I'd like to remain on your ship for now, if that's okay… I can be useful I promise, just give me a chance…" I had actually given it a lot of thought over the past few years, and I found that I had no desire to return to Earth. The thought of rejoining society, getting a teaching position at a prestigious university, publishing a couple of books, starting a family… goals that had once been the center of my life seemed meaningless now. I wasn't close with my parents by any means, and I didn't really have any close friends. There was nothing left for me on Earth, and I was okay with that.

"Well…" Archer was unsure how to respond to my request, but he seemed to pick up on the desperate tone in my voice. "I guess I'll have to talk to Starfleet Command about it. I'll see what I can do. Why don't you rest now, and I'll have T'Pol arrange for some quarters for you to stay in once the doctor releases you."

"Thank you, thank you for everything," and suddenly I realized there were tears streamed down my cheeks. Phlox discretely motioned for my visitors to show themselves to the door.

"Just get some rest, we'll figure everything out, don't worry." And with that, Captain Archer turned and headed for his ready room, mentally preparing for a very long and interesting conversation with an admiral.


	6. Chapter 6

Doctor Phlox kept me in sickbay for observation for two and a half days, but his vibrant personality made the time much more enjoyable than I thought possible. He told me bits and pieces about Enterprise and its crew, and answered all my questions about Denobula and his culture. Phlox took care not to ask me too many personal questions, but on the second day I learned he had also trained in psychology. He tentatively mentioned to me that he would be available any time of day or night if I needed to discuss anything, and that the process of healing from psychological trauma was often much longer and more difficult than healing from physical injuries. He then promptly dropped the subject and asked if I wanted to assist him in feeding his many pets around the lab.

Logically, hearing what he had to say made total sense to me. I had also taken a good deal of psychology coursework, and became well versed in understanding mental illnesses and conditions, especially the way they were perceived and dealt with in various cultures. I even took a basic counseling course. But being on the receiving end of that talk was a totally different experience. I was aware of my defense mechanisms leaping into action.. the intellectualizing of my problems, the outright avoidance and denial of my experiences. I knew all the best treatment modalities for dealing with trauma based on empirical studies. But I couldn't quite bring myself to accept that I would have to earnestly engage in the process myself at some point.

After Phlox made his final scans, he made a call to the bridge. A young woman showed up soon after, and Phlox introduced us.

"This is Ensign Isabella Gonzalez, she's been assigned to help you get settled on Enterprise. Now don't forget, I'd like to see you here once a day for the next week, just to be sure everything is healing as it should. Well, off you go then! And don't forget to try Chef's peach cobbler in the mess hall!" He smiled at me with such warmth, I almost wanted to hug him. I settled for a handshake and a hearty expression of my gratitude.

Ensign Gonzalez lead me to the turbolift, and we set off to find my new quarters. I could tell out of the corner of my eye that she was vigilantly watching me as we traveled between decks. She must've heard about what happened last time I got in a turbolift, something I was still rather embarrassed by.

"So, Isabella, how long have you been serving on Enterprise?" I asked, eager to break the silence.

"Three years this December. And you can call me Iggy." She was curt, but not impolite.

"Okay. Well, how do you like it? What department are you assigned to?"

"I'm an engineer. I appreciate the time I've spent here, I've learned a lot."

"Wow, I've always been amazed by people who could understand technology, I'm just so useless at things like that, ever since I was a kid I…" I trailed off as I realized I was starting to ramble and Iggy wasn't really that interested in having a conversation with me at the moment. The turbolift arrived at its destination and Iggy stepped out without saying a word.

"So how many floors, or uh, decks does this ship have?" I was a fast walker, but even I was having trouble keeping up with her pace.

"Seven." She stopped abruptly and pressed a button to open a door. "Here is your room. I'll show you how everything works, and then we'll take a short tour of the ship."

I stepped inside and was instantly impressed by the size of the room. I mean, it wasn't huge, but compared to the closets I had stayed in over the years of my journey to this region of space I was staring at luxury. There was a bed neatly made in one corner, a private bathroom, even a window! I saw someone had delivered my satchel, and it was sitting on a small desk. My own desk! I was almost giddy with excitement.

Iggy walked around the room and showed me how to use the various elements, like the shower and computer at my desk. Without wasting any time, she was back at the door and leading me to another turbolift.

"The bridge is off limits unless the Captain invites you, but you cannot go without an escort. The same goes for main engineering, although Commander Tucker has been known to sanction short tours, if you're interested."

"Tucker.. he's the head of engineering?"

"Yes, chief engineer." Iggy paused and turned to face me, her stern eyes making contact with mine. "I heard that you shot the Commander with a phase rifle?" My face instantly flushed bright red.

"Oh god, well, yes, but, I didn't realize he was human at the time…" I was stumbling over my words in a panic, but suddenly I saw her lips curl up in a slight grin. She turned to face the turbolift door again.

"Don't say anything but, I've had moments where I wanted to do that too," she commented, and we both started laughing. Mine was mostly in shock and relief, but I could tell hers was genuine. Then the door opened and she was all stern and racing down the hall again.

"Up here we have the mess hall. Chef prepares three meals a day. Over here you can get coffee, tea, water, or juice from the dispenser. And dishes get returned over there." I looked around as we passed through the doors and saw that the mess hall was full of people, laughing and talking and going about their day like normal. After so many years spent alone, it was a bit overwhelming. I wondered what it felt like to be so at ease, so familiar with the people and environment, to have friends even.

"Iggy!" We both looked in the direction the voice came from. Its source was a smiling young woman, sitting at a table with both of the men from the shuttle, Malcolm and Tucker. My chest tightened a bit at the sight of the chief engineer, but Iggy started walking over and I found that my feet were following her.

"Callie, how are you feeling? Is Ensign Gonzalez giving you an adequate tour of our fine ship?" Malcolm asked me.

"Callie, this is Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Security Officer. I believe you've met him and Commander Tucker before. And this is Ensign…"

"Hoshi Sato. Communications Officer." She smiled again and offered her hand, which I took. She had a firm handshake and a good energy.

"Oh, um, hi, nice to meet you… I'm doing alright, Ensign Gonzalez has been a wonderful tour guide so far." My heart was racing, and I felt a bit like I was performing on a stage for the first time. I forgot how much I hated small talk.

"Iggy," she corrected me again.

"Ah, right. Iggy. Sorry."

"I know you're still getting settled in, but I was wondering if I could meet with you to talk about the Roojana language sometime, I'm a linguistic specialist and I'm always looking for new languages to study… If that's alright with you of course."

"Yes, that'd be fine. Whenever you want." I noticed that Commander Tucker had barely looked up from the tablet in his hand since we walked over. Over the past 48 hours my mind had tried to come up with an apology for the not one, but two times I had attacked him. Now that I was face to face with him, the words felt stuck in my throat. But it was just as well, I didn't particularly want to beg for his forgiveness in front of the whole mess hall.

"Great! I'll get in touch with you over your comm later this week."

Iggy politely told the table we had to be on our way, and before my brain could catch up, my feet were following her again, out into the hall and back into the turbolift.


	7. Chapter 7

The first night in my new bed I slept for nearly 12 hours, a heavy dreamless sleep. I awoke to a throbbing in my stomach, a mixture of pain and hunger. But the first real thought in my mind wasn't about food or a hypospray. All I really wanted was a long, hot shower.

Before I was even fully awake, my body was out of the bed and taking clumsy steps to the walk-in shower. I stripped off all my clothes, almost tripping over my pant legs, and squinted at the panel of buttons on the wall. Iggy had breezed through her explanations so fast yesterday that I barely had time to register anything. Pressing one of the buttons on the right, the lights came on. Okay, so not that one. I pressed another one… and nothing happened. Finally, the third button turned the shower on, and I felt the heavenly sensation of warm water spraying down on me.

After getting myself sufficiently clean, I stood with my eyes closed, just breathing and smiling to myself. When I was in college I used to love to meditate in the shower after particularly stressful days. But today it didn't seem to be working. As the minutes went by, I found my mind wandering to thoughts I didn't want. Mostly I saw Richard's face. Smiling at me in the shade of some trees the day I helped him collect flower samples, then contorted in pain the day of the last Mautiir fight. I saw the old woman who taught me about herbs after I was exiled, and the face of the hunter who would've killed me if Malcolm hadn't intervened. Then I saw the face of the chief engineer. He was slumped over against the side of the shuttle pod after I shot him, the sun catching the highlights in his dark blonde hair. Oddly, his face looked quite peaceful. Like he was just taking an afternoon nap, instead of unconscious from a phaser shot.

My hand flew up to hit the panel again, and the shower turned off. This was going to be a long day.

XXX

Captain Archer was rubbing his temple as he sat at the desk in his ready room, on hold with the Admiral. The situation with the young woman he had rescued was turning out to be more complicated than he anticipated. The news of the research party's fate had caused quite a stir back on Earth. The president of the collective that organized the expedition soon found himself under fire from the media and the families of those who had been lost. The Vulcans were criticizing the humans for their recklessness, saying they weren't ready to undertake such missions and that the group should've been stopped. Fingers were pointing in every direction over who was to blame for the loss of life, and eventually the conversation turned to Starfleet. With preparations for the launch of four new warp-5 ships, people were starting to second-guess the allocation of resources to deep space exploration. Jon hated politics, and his steadily worsening headache was evidence of that.

The screen beeped, and Admiral Glenn's face reappeared.

"Alright Archer, it looks like girl's going to be staying with you for a while."

"What? But I thought Starfleet Command wanted us to put her on that Andorian freighter, we already changed course to meet them!"

"Well, it seems a certain politician has the ear of a certain general, and they think dropping the girl off on an alien freighter is too risky, what with the whole 'aliens murdering the rest of her research team' situation."

"But we can trust the Andorians!" Just the look on the Admiral's face told Jon this wasn't an agreement worth pursuing. "Okay, so why can't the Vulcans send a ship to get her? Or better yet, send one of the new warp-5 ships to meet up with us, it'd be a great mission to break them in."

"I wish it were that simple. And you know damn well the Vulcans would never send a ship out that far to pick up one human, regardless of the circumstances. It's illogical." Admiral Glenn chuckled to himself, but then sighed heavily, sensing that Jon still had a whole list of solutions to offer. Usually that was something he admired about the Captain, but today he just didn't have time or energy to argue. "Listen, Jon. There have been certain.. developments in a matter that goes above your security clearance. Now, you know I shouldn't even be telling you this much…"

"Is it the Romulans?"

The Admiral continued as if he hadn't heard Jon. "…but suffice to say we're stretched pretty thin right now and can't send anyone out your way. And you need to stay the course on your mission. So that's it."

Now it was Jon's turn to sigh heavily. He was strongly against the idea of having a civilian living on his ship. Just one more life to be responsible for, but unlike his Starfleet crew, she hadn't volunteered to risk her life on their missions. "Well, what do you suggest I do with her while she's... our guest?"

"She's an anthropologist, right? She joined that expedition to do research, so let her research! I really don't care what she does so long as she stays alive. Besides, her parents are pretty influential people back on Earth, it wouldn't hurt for you two to get acquainted. Never know what they could do for your career. Oh, I'm sure you'll figure something out, Captain, you always do. Until next time," and with that, Admiral Glenn smiled broadly and disconnected the link.

"Well thanks for nothing, Jacob," Jon muttered under his breath, and after taking a moment to collect his thoughts he headed back towards the bridge.

XXX

The jumpsuit felt weird and constricting compared to my old clothes, but those were far too dirty to wear again until I figured out how laundry got done on a starship. The jumpsuit was the only thing the quartermaster could offer me on such short notice. It was identical to the crew's uniform, but without the ship patches and colored piping that designated division. And of course, I didn't have a rank. The quartermaster had promised to find some sort of civilian clothes, but in the meantime, this would have to do.

I sat on the bed and stared at the door. I was ravishingly hungry, but for some reason I was apprehensive about leaving my room. I couldn't tell if it was due to a fear of getting lost on the way to the mess hall, or the prospect of being around so many strangers and sticking out like a sore thumb. Come to think of it, probably both. Just then, a chime sounded from my comm panel.

"Callie, this is Iggy. Hit the bottom left button on any of your panels to respond."

I looked around and saw a panel near the head of the bed. "Hi, can you hear me?"

"Yes. I'm just calling to check in on you." It felt like she was a babysitter checking in on a child, but I tried to make my voice sound cheerful.

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking. Just about to head out to get something to eat."

"I'm in engineering right now, but Ensign Sato offered to stop by if you need anything."

"Okay, I think I'm fine for now though." I didn't want to admit that what I really wanted was someone to eat with so I didn't have to sit alone in the mess hall.

"Great, I'll see you at 1800 when I get off duty. Don't forget to stop by sickbay this afternoon to see Dr. Phlox."

"Thanks, I won't!" I rolled my eyes. She probably did think of me as a child, not a woman in her early 30's who could remember a doctor's appointment all by herself. I tried to put it out of my mind. Iggy seemed like a nice woman despite her blunt communication style. It wasn't her fault that we were in this situation.

My stomach growled, interrupting my thoughts. Time to get this over with. I went to the door, pausing only for a second before pressing a button and stepping out into the hallway with purpose.


End file.
